A litany of practice observations from Day 8 of camp

GAINESVILLE -- A day after Florida completed a physical (closed) scrimmage with between “80-85 snaps,” the Gators practiced in the sweltering humidity early Monday morning.

It wasn’t the crispest of workouts, and once again, positional drills, special teams work and individual battles dominated the open practice. Florida also worked extensively on situational passing drills, namely third down and 1-minute scoring drives.

Without further ado, some quick-hitting observations from Florida’s eighth day of training camp…

-- Without Taylor, Jones or Lane, the Gators were down to just two scholarship tailbacks (Brandon Powell and Mack Brown). Powell continues to climb the depth chart, again showcasing his quick-twitch ability and skills an as option in the passing game.

-- Junior linebacker Antonio Morrison, much-maligned last season, had his best (open) practice of camp.

-- The ball hit the ground waaaaaay too much during pass skeleton drills and 7-on-7 work. The wideouts had tons of drops and the quarterbacks airmailed too many throws -- all while Florida’s defensive backs weren’t particularly impressive in coverage.

-- Jeff Driskel had a fine day, connecting well with various playmakers on short and/or intermediate throws. Driskel has an obvious chemisry with transfer tight end Jake McGee, but Florida's vertical passing game remains a real work in progress.

-- Florida’s coaches -- especially TEC Derek Lewis, DBC Travaris Robinson, OC Kurt Roper and HBC Will Muschamp -- were very vocal throughout practice. Roper constantly lit into the freshmen quarterbacks (Will Grier and Treon Harris both struggled again, mainly with decision-making and timing), while Muschamp and Robinson chewed out the freshmen defensive backs (namely Jalen Tabor) for gambling too often for interceptions. Also, Maye was forced to run laps for much of practice following multiple mistakes, including jumping offsides on a blitz during 11-on-11 work.

-- Florida successfully “completed” a pair of 1-minute scoring drives, as kickers Frankie Velez and Brooks Abbott both drilled game-tying 46-yard field goals. One drive was aided by the fact Florida’s defense played extremely loose coverage, with menacing pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. bizarrely lined up opposite wideout Demarcus Robinson. Robinson (predictably) gained 20+ yards on a quick hitter to set up the field goal try.

-- The offensive line produced another up-and-down day. D.J. Humphries struggled in 1-on-1 drills, but the left tackle preformed much better during scrimmage snaps. Roderick Johnson is battling for a starting spot at right tackle. The redshirt freshman dominated drill work, however, his success didn’t translate as well in 11-on-11 sessions. During one session, Johnson was whipped twice on consecutive snaps, as a walk-on and Morrison simply beat him off the edge with speed moves.

-- Skyler Morhinweg tossed the best pass of his career I’ve ever seen him make: A gorgeous 40-yard touchdown fade to sophomore wideout Ahmad Fulwood. Fulwood actually dropped a similar pass from Driskel at the beginning of practice.

-- Finally, the absolute best moment of practice? When Robinson and Powell alternated fielding punts, trying to catch as many balls as possible at one time. Powell snagged five before barreling over, but then Robinson and his freakish hands did this…